18
THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 7 Number 1 | OCTOBER 2016
IMMIGRATION
Traps on temporary graduate
visa (Subclass 485)
IMMIGRATION
P
rospective applicant
for temporary
graduate visa should
plan ahead as
failure to submit the
requirements will result in the
denial of the application.
There are two streams
under this visa, namely:
l Graduate work
stream which requires
an assessment of
qualification listed in
the Skilled Occupation
List (SOL); and
l Post–study work
stream for graduates
of higher learning
(Bachelor or Masteral
or Doctoral graduates)
whose student visa was
granted on or after 5
November 2011. This
stream does not require
an assessment and their
qualification do not
have to be in the SOL.
The applicant must file the
application within six months
of completing the studies not
from graduation.
On the graduate work
stream, clause 485.223 of
the Migration Regulations
1994 requires that when the
application is made, it was
accompanied by evidence that
the applicant had applied for an
assessment of the applicant’s
skills for the nominated skilled
occupation by a relevant
assessing authority.
This particular clause
was subject to a controversial
case of Nguyen v Minister for
Immigration & Anor [2016]
FCCA 1523 (8 July 2016).
In that case the applicant did
not submit evidence that she
had a skills assessment of her
qualification in Accounting
at the time of filing the
application.
The evidence was only
provided 29 days after the
application was lodged.
That led to the refusal of
her application with the
Department of Immigration
and Border Protection. On
appeal, the Tribunal affirmed
the decision of the Department
refusing the application saying
that there “must be a temporal
connection between the
application and the documents
that accompany it and 29
day delay does not meet the
temporal requirement”.
The applicant appealed to
the Federal Circuit of Australia
who likewise dismissed the
application. His Honour Judge
Burchardt held that “all of
these requirements seem to be
expressed in terms that make
it imperative that the evidence
required ‘accompanies’ the
application”.
Another important
requirement for this visa which
must be planned ahead by the
applicant is the requirement
of meeting the English
language requirement. We
have clients where they failed
to file the application as they
have not taken the English
test on time. This issue came
up in an AAT case [1604359
(Migration) 2016 AATA
4214, with a twist as while
the applicant took the IELTS
test, she answered ‘no” on
the question of whether she
took the English test within
the previous 36 months as she
could n ot find her test result at
that time.
The Department denied the
applicant’s 485 application by
ticking “no” to the question of
whether she took the English
test. The Department was of
New temporary visa
for sponsored parents
The Turnbull
Coalition
Government
recently confirmed
it will implement
its election
commitment
to introduce a
new temporary
sponsored parent
visa. The temporary
sponsored parent
visa will allow
Australians to
sponsor their
parents to stay in
Australia for up to
five years.
Assistant Minister for
Immigration and Border
Protection Alex Hawke
today announced a series of
community consultations and
called for public submissions
to assist the Government
with the final design of the
new temporary visa and the
legislative changes required to
implement it.
“The Turnbull
Government recognises that
many Australian migrant
communities face particular
pressures through the
separation of children from
parents and grandchildren
from grandparents,” Mr
Hawke said.
“We want to help families
reunite and spend time
together, while ensuring that
we do so in a way that does not
burden Australia’s health care
system.” Mr Hawke said.
“Improving arrangements
for parents of Australians to
spend time with their family
in Australia, whilst mitigating
costs to the Australian
taxpayer, was a key objective of
both major parties at the recent
election. It is now important
we get this balance right in
the design of the temporary
sponsored parent visa.”
The introduction of such
a visa is a significant shift
from current visa options for
parents. “I encourage migrant
communities to get involved
in the consultation process
and provide feedback to assist
in the design of this visa”
Assistant Minister Hawke
said.
It is envisaged this
important election
commitment to migrant
families will be implemented
by the Turnbull Government
in 2017.
The Turnbull Government
is seeking community
submissions on a series of
issues which will affect the
final design of the temporary
sponsored parent visa. A
discussion paper containing
the design issues under
consideration has been
released. To download the
Discussion Paper, please visit
http://www.border.gov.au
Public submissions must
be received by midnight,
Monday 31 October 2016; to
make a submission, please
email: temporary.parent.
[email protected].
UNAA Peace Program to host sustainability
forum; Astronaut Ron Garan keynote speaker
American astronaut
Ronald J Garan
Jr will be keynote
speaker at the United
Nations Association
of Australia (UNAA)
Peace Program
sustainability forum,
giving a perspective
of how Earth looks
from space 240 miles
away.
The forum ‘Focus SDG11
– The Future We Want’ will
be held 9am-5pm Wednesday,
5 Oct at The Mint, Macquarie
Street Sydney to mark World
Habitat Day.
It will focus on the UN’s
‘Sustainable Development Goal
11: Making cities inclusive,
safe, resilient and sustainable’
and will be based on the
general consensus on climate
change which has identified
sustainability as the world’s
most critical issue.
UN Peace Program Director
Dr Zeny Sicat Edwards said
the one-of-a-kind forum brings
together a diverse panel of
specialists who have accepted
the challenge to propose creative
ideas to help ease this urgent
issue.
“This forum aims to offer
practical solutions to reconnect
with our surroundings, to
make a difference, and to turn
knowledge into action – central
to this will be tackling issues
concerning the natural and built
environment from macro to
micro levels,” Dr Edwards, an
architectural historian and an
alumna of St Theresa’s College
QC, said.
Garan, a National
Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)
astronaut who has completed
177days, 23 hours and 54
minutes in space and conducted
four EVAs (extravehicular
activity), said in his website
that looking down at Earth
“240 miles below was a very
moving experience” however
he “couldn’t help but think of all
the people who don’t have clean
water to drink or enough food
to eat, of the social injustice,
conflicts, and poverty that exists
throughout the Earth.
“We have within our grasp
the resources and technology
to solve many, if not all, of the
problems facing our plant,” the
founder of online blog ‘Fragile
Oasis’ and author of ‘The Orbital
Perspective’, said.
“The sustainability forum
serves as a reminder that we
all have the power and the
responsibility to shape the future
of our cities and towns, and
we look forward to presenting
innovative and practical
solutions for a sustainable
future,” Dr Edwards said.
The UN General Assembly,
in its Resolution40/202 of 17
Astronaut Ron Garan
December 1985, had designated
the first Monday of each year as
World Habitat Day ‘to reflect on
the state of our towns and cities,
and on the basic right of all to
adequate shelter’. – EVELYN A.
OPILAS
ATTY. JESSIE
ICAO
[email protected]
the view that the applicant
has not demonstrated that
she had the required English
proficiency at the time of filing
the application and refused the
application.
Subsequently, the
applicant submitted her IELTS
test result to the Migration
Review Tribunal (now AAT).
It was too late for the applicant
as the Tribunal affirmed the
refusal saying that evidence
must be provided “at or around
the time of the application”.
The lesson of these cases
is for the applicant to take an
English test result at least a
year before completing the
course and have an assessment
of qualification if applying
for the graduate work stream
and Australian Federal Police
clearance at the time of filing
the application to avoid the
problems presented above.
Jessie Icao (jessieicao1@ gmail.com) is a practicing lawyer in the State
of New South Wales and registered migration agent since 1993 [MARN
9367993]. The information provided is of general nature and cannot be
relied in its entirety. I suggest that you consult the relevant law or a
registered migration agent.
It’s smart to be
prepared when you’re
travelling overseas
With overseas summer and school
holiday planning well underway,
travellers are reminded that the
Smartraveller webs ite, www.
smartraveller.gov.au, should be your
first stop before booking your trip to
make sure you are well informed and
prepared.
Every year, more
and more people depart
Australia for holidays or
to visit family and friends.
As the number of overseas
trips climbs to more than
9 million each year, the
number of Australians
seeking emergency
assistance from the
Australian Government
also continues to rise. The
unexpected may happen
to you while overseas,
but travellers can avoid
serious problems with
the right preparation and
planning.
Wherever you
travel, it’s important to
research the safety of your
destination, remember and
respect the local laws, and find out about any changes that
might affect you. Just as family and friends back in your
homeland can change, so can a lot about your homeland.
Australian consular assistance can’t override local laws,
even if they’re new to you or seem harsh by Australian
standards. If you are arrested or jailed while overseas the
Australian Government can’t override local laws, get you
out of jail or pay your hospital bill.
And if you’re travelling to your home country, there are
some other important things to remember. If you are a dual
citizen, you need to bear in mind that your citizenship may
not be recognised in some countries. This means you need
to think about which passport you travel on. If you travel on
a non-Australian passport, you may not be able to seek help
from the Australian Government if you run into trouble.
The Smartraveller website provides information on the
type of assistance the Australian Government can provide
in an emergency and guidance on other useful resources to
help you prepare for your trip. It includes the latest advice
on health risks, visa requirements, tips on personal safety,
carrying medications and local laws and customs you might
not know.
You can subscribe for travel advice updates to be sent
to your email or download the Smartraveller app to your
mobile phone to stay informed while you travel.
A smart traveller is a prepared traveller. Go to
smartraveller.gov.au/philippines